These are not, it seems, heroic times. I was nearly ready with my laurel wreath for Starbucks, which I was going to place on the the valiant promoters of the wealth of local communities, world-wide, when they turned turncoats, ready to cooperate with the true generic public enemy, the government*.
I just hope that behind the room where their clever and well-paid accountants are working out now how to pay more tax locally, there is another room with cleverer and better-paid ones who are making sure the company pays even less after all; even if not locally, then at least globally.
Because in those hard economic times it is crucial that businesses responsibly do their bit for the community: keep the third cup of double espresso away from me (for the sake of the local genre's** future), drugs away from junkies and money away from politicians.
*although the particular local one is impressively above the dismal average; still unsustainablly social-democratic, but marginally less so than the rest of the bankruptcy-bound European pack.
** blog-writing (not funny; but it's nearly 1 a.m.; it may be a global genre, but you just can't keep up the same high standard around the clock (just a thought: why don't I outsource the writing of an occasional late-night post to China or India?)
